1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supports for cameras. More particularly, the present invention relates to supports adaptable for supporting a video camera coupled to a computer, including desktop and laptop models.
2. Description of the Related Art
The personal computer market has grown rapidly in the past decade. Recent trends have focussed on the configuration of the computer to perform a variety of user defined functions, including connecting to the internet and communicating with others also so connected. Video cameras have increasingly been used to augment the communication between individuals using the internet. For example, “web cameras”, typically CCD cameras have been used first to capture still photos and transmit the photos to other computer users via email or through instant messaging arrangements. Further, video cameras have also been used to transmit videos, at different frame rates and resolutions depending upon the available bandwidth, to provide video telephone functions when coupled with voice over IP protocols.
At the same time, laptop computers, i.e., portable computers, have captured an increasingly larger proportion of overall computer sales. Unfortunately, many of the video cameras performing the aforementioned functions offered employ a tripod support structure, which, while suitable for a flat surface such as a desktop or the top surface of a CRT screen, cannot be used with the relatively thin LCD screens often found on laptops. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved base or support that can also be used with a variety of computers, including both laptops and desktops.